Category: Stirling Marathon

With week seven, things start getting pretty serious.  The training plan calls for thirty-six miles of running this week.  Let me put that in context – last time I did a marathon, back in May 2012, the week with the most running in it was thirty-seven miles.  That was the week with my longest run.  And this time, we’re hitting that before we even reach the half way point.

And I didn’t even manage one of the runs that week last time! 

As usual, the week started with a rest day on Monday, and on Tuesday I was taking Cameron to the gym.  The weather was horrible, so I elected to do my four miles at the gym

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Wednesday was a proper run, however,.  I left the office and joined the canal behind Tesco, then ran as far as the aqueduct.  Then I turned round and went back to the office.  No picture here, it wasn’t that kind of day.  If nothing else, it was too cold to stop and tkae any pictures

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Back to four miles for Thursday, a simple run along the canal.  I seem to be spending a lot of time on the canal this week

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Friday was a rest day, so Saturday saw a longer run.  Once again I ended up on the canal, but I also thoroughly enjoyed the portion along some delightfully rural roads just a couple of miles from the house. 

This was supposed to be at marathon pace, but I managed my speed pretty poorly and ended up doing the seven mailer at 8:41 per mile.  Running at that pace will pretty much guarantee I hit the wall on the real thing!

One thing I was made very aware of last time was how important stretching after a run is.  I am not saying that doing stretches will guarantee that I will get to the marathon date uninjured, but I am sure that missing out on these stretches would ensure some form of injury

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Sunday called for a fourteen mile run.  Now I’m not going to lie, I was scared of this one.  I haven’t run over 13.1 miles since the Edinburgh Marathon in May 2012, and so this was pretty much uncharted territory.

To make matters worse, our plans changed and so I found I wasn’t going to be doing the run in Stirling, but would be doing it from home.  So, coffee-free and with a few gels in my waist pack, I set off from the house to find – once again – the Canal.

Learning to use gels is, I think, going to be important to me.  So I had one just before I left the house, and consumed two more through the run.  I think that, in truth, I should have had three – but I only managed the two.

Going coffee free is proving to be very beneficial.  I don’t seem to need to stop at the roadside quite so often!

Anyway, the first  half of the run was lovely.  The wind was at my back and I was running easily.  I felt good as I reached the Linlithgow Canal Centre and turned round.  On the second half of the run I think I was starting to get bored with the whole thing, and I started speeding up.  And since the wind was in my face, that made the whole thing much harder.

The climb from the canal to the house is not massive – it’s about 100 feet – but given that it was at the end of the run, I’m quite happy that I managed it without having to stop.  The longest climb in the real marathon is about 200ft (from the A84/A873 junction to Dunblane) but that is done over six miles and so, I hope, should be tolerable.

And so my total for the week was 37.3 miles.  That is over three miles longer than my longest week in 2012.  Whatever else I might be doing badly, at least I am putting in the miles!

Another week, another few miles.  Fewer than usual, as this was a “step back” week.

Most marathon training plans seem to be based around a strategy of increasing mileage for a couple of weeks, then an easier week to let your body rest a bit.  Then they continue on from where they left off, increasing the mileage overall.

This week ended up being more of a “step back” week than planned, as I had to make a trip to Nottingham on Tuesday / Wednesday.  I managed to make my Tuesday run, but didn’t do the Wednesday one.  The Wednesday one is the longest weekday run, so it was a bit of a shame to miss it.

Anyway, Monday was the usual rest day and on Tuesday I left from the house.  Most of the run was either downhill or flat, but the final stretch – coming up Quarry Brae – is pretty brutal!

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As I mentioned, I missed the Wednesday run and I didn’t even manage the Thursday run too – I had to stay a little bit late at work and just ran out of time. 

To make up for it, I ran on Friday instead.  I added a loop at the end of the loch that is part of the Linlithgow 10k, which brought the mileage up a little.

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Saturday dawned dull and slightly rainy.  I had to do six miles at marathon pace today, and I decided it would be along the canal.  So I drove to Tesco and parked the car there, used its facilities and set out along the canal.  Fairly civilised, actually!

It was slightly rainy during the tun, but that’s fine.  I’ll take that over wind or extreme heat any day! (In Scotland, extreme heat means anything over approx 15℃)

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And then Sunday.  “Just” nine miles.  Last week I did twelve, so this should be a breeze, right? 

Of course not.  It’s still nine miles, which is a decent run in anybody’s language.  I dropped Cameron off at golf, then went up to the canal.  I turned towards the north and ran out to the Kelpies.  From there, along a selection of footpaths until hitting the Stenhousemuir road, which I took until I met up with the canal again.  And from there, just back towards Camelon and the golf club.

I was listening to Audible’s “Mo Joe” podcast, and a lady on that said that a pint of milk gave all the protein that one needs after a long run.  So I pad heed to that, and had a pint after the run.  Of milk, of course.

Writing this the next day, I am aware of feeling quite tired.  My ankles, in particular, are feeling it.  I’m hoping that a bit more sleep will help sort me out – let’s see how things go.

Next week is a “step up” week – and honestly that rather scares me.  Let’s see how it goes.

Week five of eighteen of training, and it’s really just a case of working the process.  And maybe – just maybe – paying a little more attention.

Tuesday was fine.  It was supposed to be a three mile day, I ended up a little over as I ran round Linlithgow Loch.  Nothing much to say about this run, except it was wet and windy…

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Wednesday wasn’t terribly clever.  I spent some time on Google Maps devising a nice six mile run to do after work, part of which involved joining the canal at a specific point.  Guess what, you can’t join the canal at that point!

So I ran along the road – luckily it had  a pavement, because it was pitch dark.  Eventually I was able to join the towpath at Philipstoun, but my six mile easy run had beome considerably longer.  So much longer, in fact, that I was desperate to get back and so I ran faster than I should have for an easy run. 

So, call that one eight miles…

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Thursday saw me doing pilates at lunchtime, and watching as the weather just got worse and worse.  Eventually I decided to chicken out and do my short three mile run on the treadmill.  It was so sweaty, though – I do prefer being outside

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On Saturday, the wind was blowing strongly.  Gusting over 40mph, I was to be found running along the canal for a six miler at marathon pace.  And my Apple Watch was playing up too; suddenly all my times were in minutes per km rather than minutes per mile.  So I spent much of the run trying to work out whether my speed was appropriate!

I also tried climbing the Wallacestone Brae.  I’m afraid to say it defeated me.  I have a lot more hill practice to do!

How windy was it?  Windy enough that a tree was blown over in the local park… I hope nobody was sitting on that bench!

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And that just left Sunday, the long, slow run.  As with the past few weeks, I started from Stirling Uni, this time I simply added an extra lap of Airthrey Loch to get the distance up to twelve miles.

No snow, minimal rain – this time it was wind causing the problem.  The outbound portion of the run was fine, but the wind was against me as I came back west along the Hillfoots and up towards Innovation Park.

So, that’s another week down.  Next week is a step-back week, then the distances rise a bit – the LSRs in the following two weeks will be fourteen and fifteen miles.

I have, however, booked in for the Alloa Half Marathon on 18th March.  This is a beautiful run and I was very disappointed that I didn’t think I would have been able to take part in it.   However, I have re-checked the schedule and it turns out I can take part.  This will be the end of week 12 of my training.  My goal is to run the Half at training pace – ten minutes per mile – and just enjoy the scenery.

The week after that is seriously scary.

Week four saw a new opponent trying to make training harder – the weather!

Monday was a rest day, and everything was fine.  It was Tuesday when things went wrong.

Normally on Tuesday I run round Linlithgow Loch with an office colleague.  However, the snow in the morning was pretty severe – so much so that I got a message from the doggy daycare service to tell me that they would be unable to look after my dog.  Which meant I had to work from home, which meant I would be unable to go for my Loch run.

Oh well, such is life.  I decided that I would wait until everyone was home, and go to the gym to do my three miles on the treadmill.  I did have to run the gauntlet of “you really shouldn’t be going out in this weather”, and they were probably wise.  The snow outside the gym was certainly quite heavy.

However, I got my miles in and made it home safely, so all was well

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Wednesday was no better.  I had to do six miles today, and I thought of running at lunchtime. I got myself togged out and ready to go for a run, but I feared that I would trip and break myself, so I grabbed a picture and then gave up

 

But I decided that that just wasn’t going to be, so once again I went to the gym in the evening and managed to stomach six miles on the treadmill.

 

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By Thursday, I was back at work and I was sick of the treadmill.  So I went out for a run round the loch, using my head torch to help me round.  Conditions underfoot were pretty awful, and I had to pick my way carefully over the snow, especially on the “back” (north) side of the loch.

On the other hand, the Palace was looking rather pretty.

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Friday was a rest day, and Saturday called for a further six miles.  Conditions were still not great underfoot, so I reluctantly decided to have another shot on the treadmill.  Fun, it really wasn’t.

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It was Sunday when the weather really started laughing at me.  here was the weather forecast.  Guess when I was running?  Yes, that’s right – just after noon!

Oh well, with nothing to be done for it I got out in the snow and started running.  In all honesty, it may not have been the wisest idea

Even on the way back along the Hillfoots road it was still snowy

Eventually I got back to the Uni and I had a celebratory cheeseburger and chips, washed down with a hot cup of coffee.  I was still soaking, but I was starting to feel human again.

As an indication of what conditions were like, have a look at this picture here.  See that big white field behind me?  It’s not a field.  It’s Airthrey Loch, in the grounds of Stirling Uni.  It had frozen over, and the snow was lying on it!

That’s a week I’m glad to have finished, I won’t lie!

So, the challenge for this week was to find a good balance between resting and getting back to training.

I decided that my best move was to let thing go until Thursday, and then I would see how I got on in Pilates.  That actually went well, so I tried going out  for a run

My initial plan was to do just a couple of miles, but when I was out on the canal towpath I decided to go as far as a specific bridge.  By the time I got back to the car I was already well over two miles, and it would only be a little bit extra to get up to three miles… so I did so.

Running felt quite good – maybe I am in a good enough state to get back to training?

This time I was determined not to make the same mistakes as last week – I had my illuminated belt, a head torch and my reflective leggings.  Nobody was going to miss me on this run!

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Friday was a rest day, so my next run was Saturday.  This was down as a five miler at marathon pace in the plan.  I knew that I wasn’t recovered enough to do that, so I stuck to training pace and did a little over four.  I’m just getting back into it, that’s okay

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Sunday was the LSR day.  I was dropping my daughter off in Stirling to do her job, and so I decided to go to Stiring Uni for the run.  There is a stretch I wanted to know well before the marathon, that is the section from the Uni out to the A91 junction.  I’ve driven this route many times, but that’s not the same as knowing what it’s like underfoot.

Setting off from the Uni was lovely.  I was able to use the facilities at the student centre before starting, and then head out along the marathon route to the high point of the Uni, where I took photographs of runners last year. Then out to the car park, and downhill to the Airthrey Road (A9).  Turning right there, I ran along to the A91 junction. 

There’s a loop here in the marathon, where the official route goes north on the A91 to the Hillfoots.  Well, I chose not to run that way because there is no pavement.  Instead, I went straight on, and ran as far as the Gogar Loan road.  There I headed north onto the Hillfoots road, then turned back towards the Uni.  I went into the University’s back entrance, climbing the hill to finish the run.

The University is really a pretty place.

But not only that. It has a publicly accessible changing room with showers, and it has a cafeteria that does a first-rate cheeseburger and coffee for under a fiver.  I think I might be doing more of my Sunday LSRs from Stirling Uni!

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So, that’ me back on the horse.  I’m not 100%; I still have a bit of a chesty cough.  I hope I am not doing too much too soon.  But I have a day off tomorrow, and a gentle three miler on Tuesday, so that should give me a decent interval for recovery.  It ramps up on Wednesday with a six mile midweek run, then Saturday and Sunday are quite brutal – a six miler at marathon pace followed by a slow eleven mile run.

Things are starting to get real…

I might have thought I could manage more than a week without crashing, but sadly that hope was not realised

This week started really well.  Monday – New Year’s Day – was a rest day, which I enjoyed to the full.

Tuesday was less cold than it had been, and the relative warmth beckoned.  Having been indoors for ages, pleasantly imprisoned in a centrally-heated space, it was a delight to be able to get outside and get some chill and some rain on my skin.

The run itself was a pleasant 3.4 miles, I really enjoyed it.

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Wednesday saw me back at work, and I had a five miler to do.  So after work I went up onto the canal towpath, and very quickly learned that I need a headlamp.

I had an illuminated belt, which is great.  But I had nothing to help me see where I was going, and that led to a close shave.  Why do bollards have to be so hard?

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Then Thursday came.  I was in work all day, but a cold was building up in my chest.  I read various sources, all of which recommended that you do not try to run when the cold is below the neck.  So, I didn’t run.

Later on that evening, I was absolutely frozen.  I went to bed early, and woke late on Friday morning.  I could barely get out of bed.  Saturday was hardly any better, and there was no way I could run on Sunday.

And so that’s it – two weeks in and I’ve already missed half a week.  And this cold is showing no signs of shifting.  I am not impressed…

I’ve made it to the end of week one of training.   Continue reading “And That Was Week One”